446 PEAS, BEANS, VETCHES, PEANUTS 



stakes are usually sharpened at both ends and set firmly in the 

 ground. Usually one or two cross-pieces are nailed near the ground 

 to keep the peanuts from the soil and provide circulation of air. 

 The peanut vines are then stacked about the pole with the pods 

 inside, leaving as much air space as possible next to the pole. A few 

 vines are, from time to time, thrown, over the pole, in order to bind 

 the shock together. The shock should be narrow, not more than 

 four feet in diameter, and well capped to shed rain. The shocking 

 should take place not more than twenty-four hours after lifting, 

 as the pods will shrivel up if exposed too long. 



Picking and Storing. When the pods have been well cured, 

 they are ready to be picked. Picking should always take place 

 during dry weather, as the least moisture coming in contact with 

 the pods will discolor them. In the past the pods have been 

 generally hand-picked, the work mostly done by women and 

 children at a cost of from ten cents to twelve cents per bushel. 

 Several machines are now on the market for picking, the better 

 types of which do very satisfactory work. The greatest difficulty 

 with machine-picking heretofore has been due to the cracking more 

 or less of the pods. Cracking is especially serious when the peanuts 

 are put in storage, as there are several insects which work on the 

 peas if the pods are cracked. 



Preparation for Market. As the peas come from the machine 

 or hands of the pickers, they contain considerable dirt and are 

 usually covered with fine dust. They are usually cleaned by machin- 

 ery, which scours and polishes tho pods more or less. The cleaning 

 and perparing for market is usually done at the warehouses and 

 not by the growers. The large type of peanuts are usually graded 

 and given special preparation to improve their appearance. 



Shelled peanuts are used very extensively, and these are usually 

 prepared also by special shelling machinery. The best grades of 

 the large peanuts are usually sold in the pods, but the smaller peas 

 are more commonly shelled. 



Uses of the Peanut. The peanut is gaining in importance as 

 a food plant. They are prepared, either by roasting, to be sold in 

 the pod, or after roasting they may be shelled, slightly salted, to be 

 sold as salted peanuts. Peanut butter is also an important com- 



